NAMA News October 2009
Inside this Issue
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Report of the Nominating Committee
During the Annual Meeting of the North American Millers' Association, Rick L. Schwein, Grain Millers Inc., Chairman of the Nominating Committee reported the election of Board member Charles B. Stout, Pendleton Flour Mills/Milner Milling, to the Executive Committee. His term is 2009-2012.
Donald L. Mennel completed his term on the Executive Committee. On behalf of the entire membership, the Nominating Committee thanked Don for his leadership role as a member of the Committee.
Richard A. Coonrod, The Pillsbury Company, was elected Honorary Member. Mr. Coonrod was active in the Millers' National Federation, NAMA's predecessor, serving on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee from 1979-1984. He also served in leadership positions with the National Grain and Feed Association, the National Grain Trade Council, the Chicago Board of Trade and the St. Louis Grain Exchange.
Rick Cole, who retired from General Mills, Inc. in July 2009, was elected Honorary Member. He actively participated in lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. for the past 15 years and served as the chairman of the Oat Division from Oct 2000-Sep 2002. He also chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on the Farm Bill and was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Futures Market.
Executive committee member Guy R. Shoemaker, Horizon Milling LLC/Cargill, is retiring and was recognized for his service and leadership as a member of the Executive Committee and former NAMA Chairman.
2009 Annual Meeting Highlights
Highlights of the 2009 Annual Meeting were sent to members by email. If you missed the email, the highlights are posted in the Member section of NAMA's web site at http://www.namamillers.org/mbr_main.cfm. The speaker presentations are also posted in the Member section.
NAMA welcomes new Board members
NAMA is pleased to welcome two new members to the Board of Directors.
Dan Dye, President of Horizon Milling LLC/Cargill, succeeds Guy Shoemaker on the Board and Executive Committee. Guy is retiring from Horizon in mid-December.
Since joining Cargill in 1981 Dan has held various merchandising and managerial positions within Cargill's grain operations. In 2000 Dan was named president of Cargill AgHorizons, responsible for the overall management of Cargill's grain handling and retail crop input business in the interior U.S. In November of this year Dan was named president of Horizon Milling. Dan serves on the Board of Directors of Agriculture Future of America and is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Dan's contact information is:
Dan Dye, President
Horizon Milling LLC/Cargill
15407 McGinty Road West
Wayzata, MN 55391
T: 952.742.4547
dan_dye@cargill.com
Bert Farrish, CEO of LifeLine Foods, LLC, also joins the Board. He succeeds Bill Becker and Rick Stoecklein, who served as interim CEO.
Bert has more than 30 years experience in the agricultural sectors. He spent 22 years at Columbia Grain, Inc. in various positions including president, served four years as Deputy Administrator for Commodity Operations, Farm Service Agency/USDA, and most recently was president and CEO of Everton Energy Biofuels Holdings & Everton Energy, LLC. NAMA had the pleasure of getting acquainted with Bert during his tenure at USDA.
Bert's contact information is:
Bert Farrish, CEO
LifeLine Foods, LLC
2811 South 11th Street
St. Joseph, MO 64503
T: 816.901.3105
F: 816.232.6926
bfarrish@life-line.com
We're delighted to have both gentlemen actively involved in NAMA.
NAMA millers fund global oat research project
NAMA oat millers have pledged $510,000 to the "North American Collaborative Oat Research Enterprise (NA CORE)." NA CORE is a global oat research project that will substantially improve the genetic map of oat. The project, led by Dr. Eric Jackson, USDA/ARS, is an international effort consisting of researchers, scientists, and students over the planned three-year duration.
Dr. Jackson stated, "To date the project has increased the amount of oat genetic information from around 30,000 genetic sequences to 160,000. From this more than 3,500 candidate markers have been identified. The project has also increased pure seed of 600 plus lines important to the North American breeding community. Researchers sent out the first test to winter locations in mid-October." Thanks to General Mills, Inc. for funding this portion of the project.
Read more at http://www.namamillers.org/PR_Oat_Research_10_14_09.html.
Biotechnology key topic at Wheat Summit III
A coalition of wheat industry leaders including Daren Coppock, National Association of Wheat Growers; Betsy Faga, North American Millers' Association; Jim Peterson, National Wheat Improvement Committee; Richard Phillips, Grain Growers of Canada; and Paula Fitzgerald, Agrifood Awareness Australia participated in the third Wheat Summit held on October 13 in Kansas City, MO. Discussion centered on key topics including: wheat's competitiveness challenges around the world, what the industry is doing to address this issue, how biotechnology can aid in achieving robust yield growth goals, and recent wheat research developments.
Genetically modified wheat faces many challenges in gaining commercial and industry acceptance, and there are currently no research projects for a specific type of biotech wheat. However, the coalition believes that GMO wheat that is tolerant of drought, stress, heat, and cold will be the best tool in creating higher-yielding crops to feed the world's growing population.
Summit leaders held a press conference at the conclusion of the meeting and NAMA president Betsy Faga was featured on Farm Talk, a program on AgNews Radio.
WFC launches virtual wheat field
The Wheat Foods Council launched their virtual wheat field web site, "How Wheat Works", in October. The interactive program uses video and 3-D animation to teach users about the life cycle of wheat including planting, harvesting, milling and baking. The site also includes recipes for the six wheat classes represented in the program and information on the benefits of wheat in a healthy diet. For every person who completes the program, two pounds of flour will be donated to Operation Homefront - a non-profit organization that provides assistance to U.S. troops and their families. To participate in the program, please visit http://www.wheatfoods.org/HowWheatWork-39/Index.htm.
GFF holds "Go with the grain" sweepstakes
The Grain Foods Foundation (GFF) is holding a sweepstakes to win a free trip to Los Angeles and a one-on-one session with fitness trainer and GFF spokesman Bob Harper. The contest is part of GFF's "Daily 6" campaign, which focuses on encouraging families to get their daily six servings of grain foods. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, only 4% of U.S. adults get the recommended daily servings of grains. 98% of those surveyed state that they eat at least one serving of grains per day, with an average of 3.2 servings.
Coverage for the campaign has included spots on www.bettertv.com reaching over 300,000 viewers, www.themombuzz.com reaching 17,000 monthly readers, and www.PinkLemonade.com reaching 10,000 monthly readers. To view Bob Harper's interview, please visit http://www.better.tv/videos/m/26626041/mind-body-spirit-games.htm.
Final report issued by CFTC's Subcommittee on Convergence
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Subcommittee on Convergence in Agricultural Markets issued their final report on the poor cash-futures convergence in particular agricultural commodity markets. The committee recommended: "the CME Group adopt a variable storage rate (VSR) mechanism for the CBOT [Chicago Board of Trade] wheat starting with the December 2009 contract." They specifically did not recommend, "implementation of modified compelled load out or moving the par locations for the CBOT wheat contract to other locations." The committee has requested to remain a standing body to monitor the performance of the CBOT wheat contract. To view the final report in full, please visit http://www.namamillers.org/pdf/ FinalReportSubcommitteeonConvergence.pdf.
On October 29 CFTC's Agricultural Advisory Committee met to discuss the Subcommittee's report and the lack of convergence in certain markets. NAMA vice president Jim Bair is a member of the committee. Jim commented that NAMA is not convinced the variable storage rate will force convergence like its proponents believe, but if the VSR is adopted it makes more sense to implement the change in a deferred month with less open interest so that fewer contracts will be impacted.
NAMA comments on Senate food safety bill
NAMA and a group of associations representing agricultural producers and agribusinesses sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on S.510, the Food Safety Modernization Act. These groups indicated their support for the risk-based and science-based approach taken in the bill. Changes were recommended in the areas of mandatory inspection frequency, imports, food defense, and fees. To view the letter, please visit http://www.namamillers.org/pdf/foodsafety091029.pdf.
NAMA signs letter opposing chemical security legislation
A coalition of industry groups including NAMA, the American Petroleum Institute, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sent House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Member Joe Barton a letter opposing the Chemical Security Bill. The legislation, if passed, would impose new security standards for facilities that store chemicals, including some milling facilities, and expand the authority of the Homeland Security Department to regulate. Specific areas of objection include provisions that allow facilities to be sued by citizens, allow states to adopt their own standards, and allow an IST (inherently safer technology) mandate that could disrupt the nation's food supply. The letter states, "In the agriculture industry, such a directive could jeopardize the availability of lower cost sources of plant nutrient products or certain agricultural pesticides used by farmers."
AgBiotech Planning Committee submits comments on trade barriers
The AgBiotech Planning Committee (ABPC), of which NAMA is a member, submitted comments in response to a Federal Register notice asking for input on foreign trade barriers. In the letter, ABPC explained the barriers to trading biotechnology-derived products with the EU. The EU has failed to comply with the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling to provide for a science-based, timely and predictable process for regulatory review and agriculture and food biotechnology products. This has resulted in "U.S. agriculture [suffering] substantial damage."
Conference calendar
2010 Division Meetings, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
W Fort Lauderdale
March 20-23, 2010
2010 Corn Dry Milling Conference, Peoria, IL
May 19-20, 2010
2010 Annual Meeting, Del Mar, CA
L'Auberge Del Mar Resort
October 14-16, 2010
2011 Division Meetings, Marco Island, FL
Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa
March 12-14, 2011
2012 Division Meetings, Naples, FL
Naples Grande Beach Resort
March 10-13, 2012
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